Rich Shulman writes

SAN DIEGO — Nearly 70 years after expelling Melvin Dwork for being gay, the Navy is changing his discharge from “undesirable” to “honorable” — marking what is believed to be the first time the Pentagon has taken such a step on behalf of a World War II veteran since the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

The Navy notified the 89-year-old former corpsman last month that he will now be eligible for the benefits he had long been denied, including medical care and a military burial.

Seth Wenig / AP

Photographs of Melvin Dwork, taken in 1943 when he was in the Navy, lie on display at his home in New York. Nearly 70 years after Dwork was expelled from the Navy for being gay, the military is changing his discharge from “undesirable” to “honorable,” marking what is believed to be the first time the Pentagon has taken such a step on behalf of a World War II veteran since the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Seth Wenig / AP

Mel Dwork poses for a picture, wearing his Navy cap, at his home in New York.

Seth Wenig / AP

Melvin Dwork’s discharge letter from the Navy lists the character of the discharge as “undesirable” and the reason as “unfitness,” at Dwork’s home in New York.